Quit work, play poker, sleep till noon

Steven Bleiler
Department of Mathematics, Portland State University

Abstract: This talk outlines how one can use one of the fundamental theorems of game theory, Van Neumann's Minimax Theorem, along with Sklansky's Fundamental Theorem of Poker to develop an "unbeatable" bluffing strategy for the game of poker, that inexorably changes certain losing situations into winning ones. The best part is your opponents can know your strategy in advance, and still have no recourse against it. Along the way we'll explore a bit of mathematical game theory (which is really not so much about games as it is about making correct decisions) and how to correctly perform some basic statistical reasoning.